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A bedtime routine is a series of activities performed by a person every night before he/she goes to bed in order to let the body be aware that it needs to wind up and go into sleep. One of the means of achieving good sleep may be adhering to a regular bedtime routine. We shall see in this article the ways of forming a helpful bedtime routine for good sleep.
1. Establish a Bedtime Routine
Why Bedtime Routine is Important: The reason behind keeping the bedtime the same every single night is that the body regulates itself according to its internal time and is able to sleep and wake up at the same time each day. Going to bed on time every day will enforce your body's biological sleep-wake cycle.
Choose a Bed Time That Works for You: Check your daily schedule to see what time you need to go to bed to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Try to go to bed about the same time each night, including weekends.
Set a Wake-Up Time: Match a wake-up time to your bed time. The bottom line for a healthy sleep schedule is to go to bed and rise at the same time every day.
Gradually Change Your Schedule: Any time you'll need to change your sleep time or schedule, at ST, do it in small steps: bedtime or wake time shifted by just 15-30 minutes daily.
A consistent bedtime itself is the heart of good sleep-inducing routine and helps a person get into a natural rhythm to sleeping.
2. Wind Down with Relaxing Activities
Relaxation is important. Some kind of activity that relaxes you before going to bed will help your body tell itself that it's time to unwind and sleep. They will relax your mind and body, making it easier to drop off to sleep.
Below are some relaxing activities that you can add to your bedtime routine:
Read a Book: Any book read, particularly in print, will help unwind your mind from all the stresses of the day. Choose light and more enjoyable reading that will not overstimulate your brain.
Deep Breathing: This exercise will set your nervous system to calm and rid it from stress. Breathe slowly in through your nose, then hold your breath for some seconds before exhaling slowly through your mouth.
Take a Warm Bath: A warm bath or shower taken before sleeping relaxes the muscles, and thus the body is in a great position to sleep. The lowering of the body temperature due to this can serve as a trigger to the body that it is time to start sleeping.
Listen to Soothing Music: A person can unwind by listening to soft music or even the nature sounds that would create a calm atmosphere before sleep.
The relaxation activities prior to sleeping enable the individual to formally shift their minds from a busy or an active day into a relaxed one and thus contribute to the easy falling asleep.
3. Create sleep inducing Environment
How Your Environment Affects Sleep: The bed environment is the major determinant factor for good sleep. Setting your bedroom to be sleep-friendly will improve comfort and make you sleep easily through the night.
Tips for creating sleep-inducing environments:
Keep Your Bedroom Cool and Dark: The best temperature to sleep in would be around 60-67°F. It is best to either have curtains that make it dark inside your bedroom or be blindfolded.
Limit Noise: You could use earplugs, a white noise machine, or soft music to mask jarring sounds that may interrupt your rest.
Invest in Comfortable Bedding: Ensure that your bed mattress and pillows are supportive and comfortable enough. Replace them in case they are old or trouble you when you are sleeping.
Turn off Distractions: Keep all the electronic gadgets, work stuff, and other such distracting material away from your bedroom. Only use your bedroom for sleeping and relaxing purposes.
Turn your bedroom into a sleep zone by ensuring the atmosphere will help make you drowsy.
4. Avoid Screens Before Bed
How Screens Affect Sleep: The blue light from phone, tablet, and computer screens adds to the interference coming from TVs to your body's ability to produce melatonin—the hormone that regulates the sleep cycle. Staying away from these sources of light an hour or so before bed makes falling asleep easier.
Atiku Decrease Screen Time with These Strategies:
Establish a Screen-Free Wind-Down Routine: Switch off the screens at least 30-60 minutes before you retire to bed. Instead, read, bathe, or meditate.
Use Blue Light Filters: If using the screen in the evening is necessary, then surely consider employing blue light filters or wear blue light blocking glasses/goggles to reduce its negative effect on your sleep.
Keep Devices Out of the Bedroom: Charge your devices outside your bedroom or put them on "do not disturb" to eliminate distractive elements related to the screens.
Not having the screens before bed will make your body get back to the natural habit of producing melatonin that aids in sleeping easily.
5. Keeping an Eye on Your Diet and Hydration
How Diet and Fluid Intake Can Affect Sleep: Food and fluid intake at bedtime can immense influence the quality of sleep or the probability of sleeping through. One can keep tabs on what one is eating and drinking to help get quality sleep.
Eat to Sleep: Diet and Hydration Tips
Avoid Heavy Meals Before Bed: You can be uncomfortable and probably experience indigestion, which might make falling asleep very hard if you consume a heavy or spicy meal before bed. It is good to eat at least 2-3 hours before sleeping.
Limit caffeine and alcohol: Caffeine and alcohol have sleep-interfering qualities. Take no caffeine in the afternoon and limit your use of alcohol in the evening.
Hydrate, but Not Too Much: On the other hand, too much water before bed could result in your urinating way too frequently during the night. Try drinking earlier in the day and cutting down during the hours leading up to bed.
Now, you have become more considerate about diet and hydration, so you won't disrupt your sleep and will be more likely to get good rest.
Summary: Institution of bedtime routine establishes quality of sleep and initiation and maintenance of sleep. These include a regular sleeping time; relaxation before bed with an activity; an environment that will induce sleep; no screen or at least the minimized use of it before sleeping; watching what one eats and drinks before bed in order to help establish routine restful and restorative sleeping. What is important is there is some consistency, and that may take some time to figure out.
